6 excuses guys use to get out of Valentine’s Day

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This post goes out to the ladies. Why does Valentine’s Day give us guys so much anxiety? Why do we feel the need to have a “stance” on it? Some treat it like any other day. Others go all out. Either way, the wallet is lighter and we can’t wait for March to get here. Here are six reasons (some may call them excuses, but whatever) we stumble over this mid-February love bomb.

1. I already sold my bodily fluids in the name of love. What more do you want me to do? “My husband once sold his own plasma to pay for gas to come see me. If that’s not love I don’t know what is. Not Valentine’s Day, but close.” —Lisa Anderson

2. I’m not “good” at Valentine’s Day.This is the one I own. I proved this when I asked people to share their stories, and my wife’s most memorable present was from a college boyfriend:

“Remember those coffee mugs from Starbucks where you could insert your own pictures? I had a boyfriend give me one that had all pictures of 50 Cent inside. Except it wasn’t horrible . . . It was awesome!” —My wife

3. That one time I tried . . . she cried.“I drew a big heart in shaving cream on my girlfriend’s car. Turned out to be a 70-degree day. In addition, someone messed with it to spell out something inappropriate. I went to her house later expecting smiles to find her crying and trying to figure out who sabotaged her car.” —Christian Womack

4. It’s not a real Holiday.“My husband uses the tired argument that it is a made-up Holiday . . . a way for stores to make money. He insists he does not need a designated day to profess his love/be romantic/recognize I’m special. P.S. He does.” —Rayelle Finlayson

5. I was TOO secret of an admirer.“I got to school my sophomore year on Valentine’s Day and there was a monkey stuffed animal waiting by my locker with a big bag of chocolates. It had my name on it but had no note on who it was from. I spent the next month questioning people if they knew who it was from. Finally someone confessed. Two years go by and on my last day of senior year one of our foreign exchange students confessed that had given it to me in secret. This other guy completely lied about giving it to me and I spent two years of high school thinking it was from the wrong person. HA.” —Francesca K.

6. I’m a grown man, I don’t need a day to tell me how to act.“I’ve known since the beginning not to expect anything on Valentine’s Day. He doesn’t like to be told when to tell me he loves me. He’s proven himself that he shows his love for me in random ways throughout the year.” —Linnea Bergstrom

Okay, before you let him sell his blood in an attempt to make your Valentine’s more meaningful, how about turning the tables . . . and taking back the day. Do something nice for him. Take off the pressure.

Case in point.

One year my wife told me to go out to the Hub in Tacoma with my dad on Valentine’s Day (it was on a Saturday). I thought this was awesome and not a trap, so I said yes. When I got back her parents had taken our boy for the night, and we had an entirely free 24 hours! As young parents this was like getting handed oodles of quarters and getting told you could play in an arcade all day. We saw an amazing action movie with Denzel Washington that I got to pick and some more good food that we both chose.

So it kind of was a trap. An awesome love trap.

All that to say, maybe switch it up each year as to who gets to the date caters to, and you’ll have a fresh experience each time. Plus that way, he’ll owe you an even better date when your turn swings around. If he’s good at Valentine’s Day, which again, as point number two proved, I am not.